Shortage of good secondhand 4WD

Tony Harvey.

13-08-2007 | Not Specified

Keep your wellies off the seat and remember that the next owner of your farm vehicle may well be a city slicker.

At the moment many dealerships are struggling to meet the demand for well maintained, late model, second hand, double cab, four wheel drives (4WDs).

No, this is not a sales pitch to encourage you to trade yours up.

Out shopping last month for a new vehicle, Country-Wide's Gerard Hall picked up a few pointers when he caught up with Macaulay Mazda's new vehicles sales manager Tony Harvey.

Harvey has been selling new Mazda vehicles for 14 years. He says as well as being an ideal workhorse on the farm, high spec, double cab 4WD's such as the Mazda BT-50 (which he drives) are also proving popular family wagons.

Late model secondhand vehicles with good service histories are popular with prospective buyers.

They are also sought after by tradespeople and people keen on outdoor recreation. As a result high spec 4WDs are holding their resale value a little more than they might have a few years ago.

Harvey says when trading in, presenting a well maintained vehicle gets negotiations off to a good start, so investing in a set of 4WD mats and seat covers to protect the interior is a smart move.

As well as a wash and polish, regular steam cleaning, particularly the body work of a vehicle pays dividends. A well maintained service log also shows a prospective buyer the vehicle has been well looked after.

Buying a new vehicle is not a five minute decision.

When searching for a new vehicle, Harvey suggests comparing apples with apples; specifications do differ from model to model and from brand to brand.

Loyalty to a brand and dealership is common. Buying a vehicle should be an enjoyable and fun experience.

Most new vehicles now come with a three-year, 100,000km warranty, whichever comes first. The warranty is assigned to the vehicle.

When ownership of the vehicle changes any remaining warranty goes with it.

It is important that service checks are carried out to validate the warranty. Service checks of Ford and Mazda vehicles are generally every 10,000km or six months, whichever comes first.

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